Writing on the Wall
by NettieC
Summary: If he was paying attention, chances are he could have seen this coming.
**AN: I believe I wrote this for a challenge on the HBX board last year sometime as I have the below prompt at the start of the story. A Google search can't find the text so I'm thinking it was not published anywhere. Bonus, hey?**

 **Harmon 'Harm' Rabb, Jr.: What do you have do to get a plaque?**

Col. Sarah 'Mac' Mackenzie: It's for good behaviour. So you don't have to worry about it.

* * *

 **Writing on the Wall**

If he had been on time that morning he would have heard everything he needed to know at the 0730 senior staff meeting. If he had of come straight back to the office after his 1000 meeting at the Pentagon rather than stopping off to have lunch with a friend then he would have been aware of the situation. Instead, Harmon Rabb arrived back in time to grab the Daw file from his office and head into court at 1500 to argue against why Sturgis Turner should be given a continuance when his client should be home with his very pregnant wife and not in the brig awaiting the trial.

After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and some heated words from both attorneys, the judge, Admiral William Petrie, granted the continuance but allowed the young lieutenant to go home under some stringent arrangements. Happy with the outcome, Harm headed back to his office, deciding to call in on Mac and see whether he could twist her arm into having dinner with him. Something they doing more of lately and something he was enjoying immensely.

To his dismay and confusion he found Mac's office all but empty. Not empty in the respect she wasn't there, which she wasn't. But empty as in the cleared bookcases, the walls devoid of all items; photos, certificates, plaques were all gone only leaving a shadow of where they once hung. Stalking towards his office, he pulled out his cell and checked for messages from her, there were none. Scanning his desk for the same yielded the same result.

Shutting the door behind him, he quick dialled her cell and waited for her to answer. It soon went to voicemail and he growled before leaving a very short message; What the hell is going on? Deciding he couldn't wait for an answer, he headed to his CO's office only to find both the General and Petty Officer Coates absent. It took him a minute to recall that he knew Jen was taking an early mark today to head up to Blacksburg for a girlie weekend with Mattie and that Cresswell was to be at a meeting elsewhere for the most part of the day before he too was heading away with his wife for a family wedding.

With most staff taking the opportunity for an early mark for the start of the long weekend, Harm opted for the same course of action. Out of the car park within minutes, Harm was headed to Mac's to find out in person why she had left JAG without telling him. He had had no idea this was on the cards. There had been no talk of promotion or transfer. They had both been busy in recent weeks and she had tried to have a more personal discussion the week before but Harm had been too busy and he was kicking himself now.

Maybe she had quit.

Maybe she was sick.

Whatever it was, he wanted to know.

He wanted to know now.

The drive to her place had taken forever. It seemed to Harm that he had caught every red light and that nobody else was interested in getting anywhere. It gave him ample time to think and those thoughts were only serving to concern and confuse him more. What was it Mac wanted to talk about? Was she ill? Had she been transferred somewhere? Why did she leave just like that? What was wrong? Why hadn't he seen the signs something had been amiss? How could she just go without saying something? Why couldn't she at least leave a note? Why didn't he see the writing on the wall?

By the time he arrived at her doorstep Harm was breathless and a bundle of mixed emotions; all of them negative. He felt physically ill at the thought she may be ill herself. He was angry at the thought she could transfer out without giving him a second thought. And he was downright panic-stricken at the thought of not having her in his life.

Three attempts at knocking produced no result and the door stayed firmly shut. No light came from beneath the heavy wood and no sound could be heard from within Mac's apartment. A sickening feeling crept over him. Had she deserted her apartment the same way she had her office? When one last knock produced the same result, he fished out his keys and found her door key on the ring. He slid it into the lock and listened to it as it unlocked and the door opened.

Relief. That was his first emotion as he flicked on the light and saw everything was it is rightful place. Sheer relief. Harm walked through the apartment slowly, almost reverently, as he checked each room and comforted himself with the fact that she may have left JAG but there was no indication she was leaving town. Then he spied the dining table with an archive box atop and he knew it contained items from her office.

Slowly, he made his way over and looked at it. From the top view, he could see the edges of numerous frames and plaques as well as a few little knick knacks she had accumulated over the years. He was saddened that she was someone who was larger than life at the office and yet that life seemed to amount to so little when that office was in a box. Harm couldn't help but smile at the number of plaques in amongst the frames. Over the years she had been presented with many wooden or metal tributes from a wide range of people or organisations, and, at a glance, she probably had three times more than he did.

With his attention elsewhere, he failed to notice Mac behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked and smirked as he actually jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Me?" he countered as he spun to face her. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm coming into my home, Harm...my home," she said slowly, in case he was having trouble with the concept. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" he asked incredulously before continuing without giving her a chance to answer. "I mean how could you do it? Not even a note. Are you sick? Is that it, Mac? If you are you'd tell me, wouldn't you? You don't look sick...but ... Did you get a transfer and not tell me? You didn't quit did you? I don't know what to think, Mac. Why don't you say something?"

Mac shook her head and tried to get things straight. She couldn't fathom why Harm was so distressed and unsure of everything and this concerned her. "Come and sit," she said taking his hand and leading him to the sofa. "I'll get some water."

Not wanting to distress her, well, more than he had, Harm agreed and before long Mac was sitting alongside him and handing him the glass. "I don't need water," he said, shaking his head. "I thought you did."

Placing the glass on the coffee table, Mac turned and took Harm's hand in hers. The look on her face was one of concern and Harm was off again. "Oh, you are sick, aren't you? Oh, I'm so sorry, Mac, what's wrong?"

"Harm, I don't know where you got the idea from but I am not sick. I had my physical this afternoon and I am in great shape."

"But then..." he started but Mac shook her head.

"Just take a breath and try to relax, Harm. You've got me really concerned," she said gently as she stroked his arm.

"Relax? How can I relax? Mac ... if you're not sick then what's going on?" he asked, his voice going up an octave or two.

"Nothing's going on," she replied shaking her head. "With me anyway. What's going on with you?"

With that, Harm was on his feet once more. "Me? Nothing is going on with me."

"I don't believe you, Harm," she said, staying on the sofa. "You let yourself into my home, something you've never done before and you are frantic..."

"Of course I'm frantic," he admitted throwing up his arms and pacing. "You've left me and you expect me to believe nothing is going on."

"I have left you?" she echoed and Harm stopped in his tracks. "How have I left you?" she asked, slowly.

By the look on her face, Harm knew he had disclosed something which he had tried to hide for so long. "You left JAG," he said quietly. "I went to ask you to dinner this afternoon and you had left."

"Yes, I left to go for my physical," she said very confused by the evening's events.

"No, you had left JAG," he repeated and it left her none the wiser.

"Yes, I just told you..." she began but followed his eyes to the archive box on the coffee table. With that, she burst out laughing. "The box, the empty office, is that what this was all about?"

"How can you be so casual about all of this?" he asked in disbelief. "I thought we were friends. I thought we were more than friends. Obviously, I was wrong. I..." He headed towards the door.

Quickly, Mac crossed the room and blocked his path by placing her two hands flat against his chest.

"We are friends," she confirmed. "We are more than friends...I hope. But you, my friend and maybe-something-more, are tardy and ill-informed."

"What do you mean?" he asked, linking his arms around her and focusing intently on her face.

"If you had of made it to the staff meeting you would have heard Cresswell tell Sturgis and myself that we had to clear out our offices today. In the storm two weeks ago there was a fracture in the external wall which resulted in water damage and then, with the warmer weather, a mould issue in both our offices and the ones on the floor directly beneath. They are using the long weekend to do the repairs and, as part of it, they will need to clean the walls and other hard surfaces."

"But you brought your personal things home," he pointed out.

"Cresswell said the work crew would clean them too but these ones are very personal and I decided to do it myself. I didn't want them to get damaged," she explained, liking the fact that he was still holding her.

"That's all this is about? Mould?" he asked not knowing what to think.

"That's all it is about," she confirmed. Slowly, she moved her hands up to caress then cradle his face. "I would never just disappear on you. I would never leave you. Never."

Harm dropped his head so their foreheads were touching. "Good," he replied. "Because you have given me a huge wakeup call today. I never want to lose you."

"Are you aware that we are using 'never' in a far more positive way than last time," she said drawing him closer.

"I am aware of that," he confirmed quietly.

"Are you aware that we seem to be on the very same page of 'us'," she whispered.

"I am aware of that," he echoed with a nod. "Are you aware of how much I want to ki..?"

Being very aware of that fact, Mac's lips claimed his before he could get the word out. It was a hungry, desperate kiss that was over way too soon.

"Now, as I have just done an 8 mile run, I am hot..." she started to explain.

"Yes, you are," he sassed with a grin.

"And sweaty," she continued. "Not to mention hungry. So..."

"I'll order dinner, you go shower," he offered and she grinned before kissing him quickly once more.

Taking her time in her showering and dressing routine in order to gather her thoughts, control her urges and to make herself both comfortable and sexy, Mac emerged from her bedroom to find Harm standing nearby.

"Wow!" he muttered as his jaw visibly dropped.

"How long before dinner?" she asked trying not to smirk at his obvious reaction.

"'bout 10 minutes," he said, as he watched her walk towards him.

"Have you got anything in your car to change into?" she asked as she ran a finger across his ribbons. "I want you to be comfortable."

"Yeah...I have," he said slowly wondering how just how comfortable they were going to get. "It's just some sweats."

"Well, go get them," she said, ushering him towards the door.

Harm was back and changed before the delivery guy dropped off their Chinese food.

Dinner was enjoyed with jazz in the background and the pair on the sofa chatting quietly and offering the other morsels of food. When the last of the noodles had been eaten and the containers lay strewn on the coffee table, Mac leant back against the arm of the sofa and sighed contentedly. Scooping up her legs, Harm turned to face her while putting her feet in his lap. Each foot got his attention as he used his thumbs to massage her soles, sending her into the realms of bliss. As a rule, she hated people touching her feet, it had taken four attempts before she could let her pedicurist do her job properly and, yet, with Harm it felt perfectly natural and perfectly perfect.

Just when he thought she had drifted off to sleep, Mac spoke though her eyes remained closed. "So, how long have you been mine?" she asked before opening one eye to gauge his response.

"What do you mean?" he asked, pausing in his task.

"You said I had left you," she said, looking at him properly. "That would indicate you had us in a more than friends relationship."

"Wishful thinking," he said with a small smile.

"How long have you felt that way?" she asked, withdrawing her feet so they could actually talk about this.

"How long is a piece of string?" he countered and then shrugged. "You really want to talk about this now?"

"Yeah, I do," she replied. "I think it's the perfect time to work through a few things."

"Well, I guess I have had strong feelings for you since the very start. They haven't always been as positive as they are now," he began honestly. "When it comes to you, or to us...I have been through the whole gamut of emotions."

"You hated me?" she asked quietly.

Harm shrugged and then took her hands. "Yeah, at some point I think I did." He hated the look that drifted across her face. "But only because it was easier."

"Easier than what?" she asked, wanting to withdraw her hands, but not wanting to at the same time.

"Than now," he said quietly. "Than loving you."

"Is this what this is?" she asked, her eyes tearing up.

"From me, yes, it is love. I love you, Mac," he declared, squeezing her hands. "I couldn't face the prospect of you leaving me because I love you. I can't live without you. I don't want to live without you."

Digging down to the recesses of her heart where she had long ago locked away the truth about her feelings for Harmon Rabb Junior, Mac moved to her knees and edged closer to him.

"I love you too, Harm," she said, tearfully. "I have done for a long time now. Even at Christmas when I had my accident I was already in love with you, I just couldn't bring myself to say it. I'm sorry."

"No, no," he said quickly, caressing her face. "No apologies. We have both been incredibly slow off the mark, not to mention stubborn and in denial about us and all it entails. If we start apologising, that's all we will do."

With a sniffle, Mac nodded. "Did you have something else in mind?"

"Yeah," he whispered in a sigh before he kissed her.

The following morning when Harm awoke from the best sleep he could remember having, he was surprised to find Mac missing. They had spent the night talking and kissing and fell asleep in each other's arms. Now, he glanced at the clock, at nearly 1000 where was Mac and how long had she been up?

"Well, I was starting to think you'd never get up," Mac said from the dining table where she was in the midst of cleaning her items.

"Cleaning? You're cleaning?" he asked, his brow furrowing. If he had the choice of staying in bed with Mac and cleaning it would be no contest.

"I am," she said. "It wasn't my first plan but I got up 73 minutes ago to use the bathroom and when I returned you had sprawled face down across the bed and had my pillow in a death grip. I figured I'd let you sleep, you've been looking tired lately."

"What was your first plan?" he asked with a sly grin.

"To spend the morning horizontal with you," she said and his grin faded. "I know you said last night not to rush things and you were happy with just talking and kissing but..."

"But..." he whispered, his heart accelerating.

"But I had been thinking that after all these years, rushing into something with you is not remotely possible and that as we have a long weekend I wouldn't mind spending some of it horizontal with you...horizontal and naked...but only if..." Mac said rapidly before stopping abruptly.

"Oh, I'm all for horizontal and naked..." he said, pulling Mac up from the chair and kissing her thoroughly. "That is if you can bear to leave your cleaning until another time," he chided.

"I'm sure it can wait," she said, pulling his t-shirt off as she walked him backwards to her bedroom.

"I noticed you have so many awards, Mac," he said as he untied her robe. "Just what do you have to do for a plaque?"

"They're for good behaviour," she replied keeping up the conversation to delay the rush of hormones which were threatening to overwhelm her. "So, you don't have to worry."

"Oh, I'm sure that by the time we're vertical you'll be speaking very highly of my 'behaviour'," he sassed as he pulled her nightgown from her already tense body.

"Well, if your 'behaviour' is very good, maybe I'll get you a plaque," she said as her thumbs slipped behind the band of his boxers and she began to lower them.

Hours later when they were both utterly exhausted, fully sated and more in love than ever before, Mac began to drift off. "Hey, marine," he whispered, his voice raspy. "Do I get a plaque?"

"Aha," she managed. "You get a wall full."

Harm smiled his cocky grin and closed his eyes. A wall full of plaques from Mac extolling his virtues as a lover; that was writing on the wall he could live with.


End file.
